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Aug
17
The struggles of scaffolded math
Filed Under education
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks in and out of doctors’ offices because of a stabbing pain in my ankle that turned out to be tendinitis. Recuperating has left me plenty of free time to make some headway on a couple of current projects. While rethinking my approach and topics for Dead Bunny, I discovered that I can’t just confine myself to algebra and adequately do what I want to do.
In order to really develop a sequence of skills, I’ve discovered I have to be open to exploring the algebra and geometry skills in that sequence. It makes sense- I often have to review more basic algebra skills with my geometry students to help them successfully understand a new skill.
This got me thinking about the Integrated Math Program, which attempted to teach algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and statistics in one multi-level class. The original approach presented the students with real-world situations that they had to decode and then determine or discover the math principles behind what they were doing. The main problem was that if the students could even understand what the questions were trying to ask, they often hadn’t been exposed to the skills they needed to attempt the problem. Eventually, the program moved to textbooks that looked like traditional math textbooks, but they were divided back out into their overarching subjects. (No one would ever admit that, but they were.)
I’ve never agreed with the IMP because there was no discernible place in the curriculum for actual instruction, or discussion about student discovery, to take place. I never actually thought about expressing an opinion on interweaving different maths together to build a curriculum.
Now I am, and I feel like it’s opened up this whole new world of possibilities in designing and structuring Dead Bunny’s curriculum.
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